go green? Pandemic impact on Singapore’s

Singapore CEOs worry about supply chain risk, territorialism

Over 70% of bosses have reevaluated their purpose.

The CEOs of Singaporean companies are most concerned about supply chain risk and a return to territorialism as the top threats to their organisations’ growth over the next three years, according to a KPMG report.

Given the country’s open economy, supply chain risk (20%) and territorialism (16%) rank as the two top threats to businesses whereas in the global environment, talent risk took first place.

Almost three-fourths (72%) of CEOs in the Lion City say that they re-evaluated their company’s purpose in order to better address the evolving needs of their stakeholders whilst 80% want to lock in the climate change gains they have made during this period.

They have also become more conservative than CEOs globally, with less than a quarter (24%) expecting to see their company’s earnings grow at more than 2.5% yearly over the next three years.

On the other hand, they have also heavily invested in technology during the lockdown, with seven in 10 (72%) seeing their new digital business models accelerate during the pandemic. The biggest advancements have been in the digitisation of operations and the creation of a next-generation operating model, where 56% say that progress has put them years ahead of where they would have expected to be right now.

Almost two-thirds (64%) are likely to put more capital investment into technology than people.

In addition, 72% stated that they have had to re-evaluate their organisations’ purpose as a result of the pandemic, and 80% saying they feel a stronger emotional connection to their organisations’ purpose since the crisis began.

Mitigating climate risks has also evolved into a personal responsibility as 60% feel that their ability to manage climate-related risks will impact their role in the organisation, ultimately determining whether they keep their jobs over the next five years.

This development has put ESG near the top of the agenda for CEOs in Singapore and 72% of them have shifted their focus towards the social component of ESG.

Pandemic impact on Singapore’s supply chain, procurement ‘mixed’

Digital demand is driving hiring opportunities.

Singapore has seen a mixed impact of the pandemic towards the supply chain and procurement amidst market recovery, as some sectors have become cautious whilst others have experienced significant boom, according to a Hays report.

Overall, as firms resume work, demand for goods and services has gradually boomed alongside accelerated digital transformation, resulting in more hiring opportunities. As revealed by Hays’ analysis, roles that were formerly placed on hold have resumed hiring, but most continue to be on a replacement basis.

Digital skills have been increasingly

critical, the report noted. For the supply chain, this has translated to a demand for knowledge of softwares such as SAP and JDA. Data analytics is also in high demand, as well as supply chain optimisation competencies like Lean Six Sigma certifications and KAIZEN are rising as the manufacturing industry zeroes in on efficiency, Hays said.

“This is especially true in Singapore, where higher costs of doing business place many manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage with global counterparts in places like China, India, and Indonesia.”

Edge computing, analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) are also gaining traction, as big data analytics play a key role in boosting supply chain performance whilst edge computing coincides with the spread of IoT devices.

“Candidates would be more likely to set themselves apart in a competitive market by upskilling themselves and by getting certified in these areas,” according to Hays.

Singapore property investment activity returns to expansion mode

Investment sales amounted to $4.4b in Q3.

Investment activity in Singapore’s property sector picked up Q3 following the easing of circuit breaker measures and on the back of foreign investor interest, says Knight Frank.

Overall investment sales amounted to $4.4b in total sales for the third quarter—a 55.1% decline compared with the $9.9m recorded in Q3 2019. Of these, more than half of the sales came from the commercial sector.

Significant commercial property deals include the 50% stake sale of Frasers Property’s Northpoint City to TCG Group for $550m, as well as the sale of Tuan Sing Holdings for $500m. All top five transactions for the quarter were from the commercial property sector and totaled $2.305b, or 52.4% of total investments across all sectors.

Whilst there remains substantial interest for commercial properties, especially in the Central Business District (CBD) region with the potential of existing buildings tapping into the CBD Incentive Scheme, there is limited saleable stock available on the market, noted Knight Frank.

Meanwhile, demand for the residential property sector also remained resilient, particularly in the good class bungalow segment. A string of deals amounting to $128.3m in Q3 came close to the amount recorded in the first half of the year, at $166.4m.

The industrial sector also chalked up an increase in investment sales, registering a total of $406.6m. A warehouse at 7 Bulim Street sold for $129.6m and a business park development at 26A Ayer Rajah Crescent sold for $125m.

No transactions were completed in the public sector in Q3, with no sites sold under the Government Land Sales Programme.